Northern Rock talks to potential buyers

LONDON (CNN) -- Troubled British bank Northern Rock confirmed Monday it is in talks with potential buyers after a run on the bank last month.

In a statement, Northern Rock said the talks were at a "very early stage" and that all proposals it had received so far were preliminary. The bank said "a number of potentially interested parties" were involved in the talks.

A consortium led by Richard Branson's Virgin Group announced Friday it had submitted an initial takeover proposal to Northern Rock.

Takeover speculation has been brewing since last month when Northern Rock - Britain's fifth-largest mortgage lender - received an emergency loan from the Bank of England.

That led worried Northern Rock customers to withdraw more than $4 billion in Britain's first bank run in more than a century.

Northern Rock's investment strategy has left it especially vulnerable to the fallout from the U.S. sub-prime mortgage crisis.